Still Hanging On
by lezonne
Summary: Minerva once taught Neville's parents, and acknowledges how hard it must be for the boy to grow up in that situation. Written for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Competition for Exam.


Written for the _Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Competition _year one Exam (prompts Alice/Frank, drag, heir, maybe, digging, fear, dread, Minerva McGonagall, Peter Pettigrew, Angst) and the _Sherlock Competition _part 2 number 7.

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Still Hanging On

As a teacher, it's always hard to know that something bad has happened to your students. The wars have been exceptionally taxing on Minerva, who constantly felt her heart breaking when she heard about the deaths of her students. So many children or young adults, so promising, brought down by war and the burden of death.

But sometimes you hear about worse stories than death. Minerva always had a soft spot for Neville Longbottom, whose parents she taught before him. Frank and Alice were some of the kindest people she ever knew, always so full of life and ready to take on new challenges. Maybe if Neville's parents hadn't been taken from him at a young age, tortured past the brink of insanity, then maybe he wouldn't have lacked all the confidence that he did as a young student.

There was no way of knowing what could have been though. The hands of time usually don't like turning backward.

Minerva knew that Neville would never turn his back on his parents though. She dreaded today of all days most, each time he stepped into her classroom and sat down, eyes gazing at the floor. She knew what today was, and also knew that a boy of fifteen wouldn't want coddling on such a topic.

It was the anniversary of when his parents were tortured well past the means of sanity. The whole day seemed to sit heavily on his shoulders. While his friends noticed the differences in his demure, no one ever said anything. They seemed fearful of saying something wrong and upsetting the boy.

As far as she was concerned though, he dreaded this day for weeks in advance. As an eleven year old schoolboy he didn't have as much of an understanding about this series of events as he did now, and each year it appeared to get harder on the boy than easier. That's why today she felt prompted to call him forward after class.

"You wanted so see me Professor?" he asked, stepping up to her desk. She nodded but said nothing more until the last student was out of the room.

"Please take a seat Mr. Longbottom. This won't take long."

"What's this about?" he asked, studying the teacher. He didn't sit, and instead remained where he was, waiting for an explanation. She sighed, resting her hands tightly together before she attempted to say something else.

"Neville, if you decide to visit your parents this year I would like to send with you a bouquet of flowers. It won't solve the issue by any means, but I would like to offer my condolences and well wishes to them."

She knew that digging for an answer was a bad idea, but the longer she tried to drag out this conversation the worse this poor boy was going to feel. And she wasn't trying to bring up a sore spot, simply speak to him about something most everyone else wouldn't dare bring up.

Neville was quite for several moments before speaking, and when he did his mouth appeared dry. "Yes, I can do that."

"Don't feel pressured into anything Mr. Longbottom," she assured, sending him a soft smile. "It's only if you want to go. Break is soon, and it would give you the opportunity. But if you don't go, I'm sure your parents will understand. It's a hard situation you're in."

"I'm the heir to my parents," he grumbled, "Everything is hard."

"Nothing is hard about that. There might have been some mishaps with your parents, but you love them all the same. Pettigrew is missing now, and we all know he had some sort of plans for your parents, but now that people know where he was hiding he won't turn up again anytime soon. It's not my place to say, but I think it might do you some good to see them. Who knows, maybe something has improved."

He nodded, pursing his lips. "Thank you Professor, I'll think on it."

Minerva watched the young boy leave the room, thoughts of his parents on his mind. It must be hard to be young and know your parents are so nearby, but mentally so far away. She wouldn't know anything about that; she'd never had a family member institutionalized.

But Neville was a strong boy, dealing with a lot. Someday, she hoped, his parents would be able to see that.


End file.
